Mayim Bialik Opens up About Her Battle With Depression: “There Are Answers”

Years ago, Mayim Bialik struggled with depression — and now, the actress is opening up about her experience to help others realize it's ok to seek treatment for mental health. The 42-year-old actress recently teamed up with the Child Mind Institute for the organization's #MyYoungerSelf campaign in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month.

In promotional videos for the new campaign, Mayim and more celebs shared powerful messages to their younger selves to help erase the negative stigmas surrounding mental health struggles and learning disorders. "I think what I would have liked to tell my younger self about my mental health is that there are answers," she said in a clip posted on the Child Mind Institute Instagram page.

"For me, some of those answers I had to wait years to find and I needed to get different help, which ended up being really the right kind of help," Mayim continued. "But I had this notion when I was younger that if something didn’t work once, or if a therapist didn’t work, or if a medication didn’t work, that nothing would ever work."

"I wish I could have told my younger self that something will work — it’s just going to take sometimes more research, sometimes more referrals, and really figuring things out like your life depends on it. Because for me, it did," Mayim continued. The Big Bang Theory star appeared in the video alongside fellow actors Kristen Bell, James Van Der Beek, Gabrielle Union, and Sarah Silverman.

Mayim isn't the first celebrity to recently speak out about a past battle with depression. In early April, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson candidly shared a story about when he witnessed his mother try to commit suicide when he was just 15 years old. "Struggle and pain is real. I was devastated and depressed," he said, according to The Express. "I reached a point where I didn’t want to do a thing or go anywhere. I was crying constantly."